The field of the disclosure relates generally to applying pressure to structural components, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for applying a tailored pressure distribution to structural components.
At least some known structural applications involve an application of pressure to at least one interface between a plurality of structural components. For example, at least some known structures are formed by bonding together a plurality of structural components, and the bonding area between the components is subjected to an elevated pressure for a period of time. The structural components may include one or more of a composite structural component and a metallic structural component. An elevated temperature also may be applied during at least part of such a process to facilitate curing a bonding layer.
At least some known bonded structures are formed using a pressurized autoclave. For example, an air-tight vacuum bag is placed around at least part of the structure surrounding the bonding area, and the pressurized autoclave supplies both the elevated pressure and the elevated temperature for the bonding process. However, the bagging process required for such known techniques is labor-intensive and susceptible to failure, especially for relatively geometrically complex structural components. For example, structural components that include curved surfaces, angled pieces, and/or complex contours present a higher probability in tearing the bag, which results in one or more of re-bagging, a failed final assembly, repair or replacement of one or more involved structural components, and a need to repeat other labor- and material-intensive steps in a structural assembly process. Alternatively, at least some known bonded structures are formed using a press, but the use of a press is not practical for at least some known structures, such as relatively large or geometrically complex structures. Moreover, both a bag and a press are capable of applying only a constant pressure distribution.